Cost of Living in Moscow

[Danchik]

A fellow some of us know who is a Moscow resident just shot me an email on the subject of this topic.

He said there was so much misinformation that he didn't know whether to groan or laugh.

I usually laugh.

Another thing that many if not all don't seem to understand is that prices in Moscow can vary as much as 500% from store to store depending on the product, or a particular situation with retailers and distributors. In the West, Los Angeles for instance, if I buy something, anything, I can be pretty sure that the price of the item will not fluctuate more than 5 maybe 10%, but normally will be the same from store to store.

In Moscow I can buy zucchini at one store, and go to the next store and see it for triple the price at the previous store. I've seen people pay $10-15 for a head of lettuce (Азбука Вкуса), while I usually can find it for $2. It's why I sometimes go to 4 different stores to get everything I need at a price that is consistent with Los Angeles. There are exceptions, like in winter with fruit, but one learns to work around it to end up with basically the same equivalent, and the opposite happens in summer. 

And because many things depend on contracts between distributors and retailers, things can really get out of whack with product price and availability. IOW, things don't operate in the same way as one is accustomed to in the West. It's Russia, and some old habits still die hard. I can't tell you how many times a good quality product that I had found at a good price and that sold well was mysteriously discontinued.

I can sympathize with your acquaintance about some of the posts here, I feel the same way. But why go round and round with people who have only been here a few times, and think things work in the same way as the West, or those whom have never been here yet somehow know better . No thank you.

I'll say it again, Moscow is no more expensive than any other city its size, and in some cases cheaper.


Here's an average breakdown of my monthly expenses:
rent - $1100 for a 2 room Western renovated flat about 5 miles from the Kremlin. This is about to go up as I'm moving into a nicer flat soon.
Food, transportation and entertainment - $1000 on average and this is eating a good balanced diet with fish, meat and all vegetables/fruits as well as dining out quite often. I want for nothing.
Utilities - $15. This includes gas, electricity, trash and water

There are months where I don't go out much, eat and entertain mostly at home, and my monthly living costs are around $1600-1800.

One thing about my life in Moscow is that I haven't had a car in almost 10 years of living here (don't need one), so you can see how that alone saves me around $500 minimum on my monthly expenses.

So, I'm looking at just over $2000 a month, and even if we can add another $500 for my new (and nicer) flat, it's only around $2500. If I had to, I could get that down around $2000 quite easily on average. I doubt many foreigners are paying less in London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oslo, Tokyo, etc. living the same way, and dating the same women.

[Pyotr Alexeyevich]

Moscow is no more expensive than any other city its size, and in some cases cheaper.

правда.

[Aloe]

Wow Danchik, that is some VERY cheap rent you got there. I know of several 1 room (that's 1 kitchen and 1 living room, no bedroom) flats being rented out in an area (far from the metro, far from the center), they go for 1100-1500 bucks and rent out very quickly (to locals)

[Danchik]

Yes Aloe, to be honest, it is. Like most places it helps to know people. In Russia/Moscow who you know is even more important than in other countries/cities, as I'm sure you know. There is an apt very similar to mine in the building cross our courtyard that rents for $300 more. I have also been in this apt since 2010, and every time my landlord wants to raise the rent, I tell her I'm moving out. And because good tenants are, or can be as tough to find as good flats, she backs off upping the rent. She likes the fact that I take care of the flat as if it were my own, and that it actually looks in better condition than when I first moved in .

As I mentioned though, prices in Moscow can be very inconsistent for many things, apartments are part of that inconsistency.

One thing that my job affords me that not many other people have access to, including locals, is an incredible amount of personal contacts. It has served me well to say the least.

Nevertheless, even if we add another $3-500 to the monthly tab, Moscow still is no more expensive than other cities in its class. 

[marcmos]

Interesting read.
For me there are two things to take into consideration, which add to the cost of living
1- pollution. I could not live in the center. I'm near Strogino (west, 8 miles from the Kremlin) and it's really nice particularly during the summer, there's this huge lake and you can even rent a windsurf. These days there are guys fishing through a hole in the ice, we think they catch two-headed fish because the water is not particularly clean I believe. But if you're in the center you get pollution from car exhausts, if you leave your window open and you put a white cloth next to it you will see what I mean. And being at Strogino is nice because when I need an office I go to Regus at Ulitsa 1905 Goda which is really not far.
2- I find it difficult to get good food. I try to eat good products without additives, it's nearly impossible. Grass-fed beed ? Forget about it. Real chicken raised on the ground ? Forget about it. Everything is industrial or of dubious quality.
I think there's a price to pay for that in the end. Cancer, diseases etc. I'd love to see an organic shop next to my apt !

There's a nice tool if you want to compare real costs http://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living

- Moscow is 42% cheaper than London, 33% cheaper than NYC, 28 % cheaper than Paris, 9% cheaper than Rome, and about the same as Berlin, but 28% more expensive than Skt Petersburg, 62% more expensive than Prague and 70% more expensive than Kiev...

[mendeleyev]

Marcmos, welcome to the topic. That link is very nice.

There are some pretty important things out that way including the Techno park and the Krasnopresnenskoe depot for Moscow's trams and trolleys.

Since you live near Strogino perhaps we'll do a profile on the area in our section on Russian cities and towns.

[MrMann]

2- I find it difficult to get good food. I try to eat good products without additives, it's nearly impossible. Grass-fed beed ? Forget about it. Real chicken raised on the ground ? Forget about it. Everything is industrial or of dubious quality.

Do you know about LavkaLavka (ЛавкаЛавка)? They supply high quality meat and vegetables direct from carefully-selected local farmers.

Also there is Bio-Market (Био-Маркет) who sell organic produce from other countries, and Globus Gourmet (Глобус Гурмэ) who sell high-quality non-local produce (I don't think it's organic though).

[mendeleyev]

One question often asked by new arrivals is about shopping for food. Fortunately the larger and medium sized cities have very complete stores with just about any item you might purchase back home. Even the smaller neighborhood markets may surprise you with their inventory, although you'll pay a bit more for that neighborhood convenience.

This little market near my office is about the size of a convenience store in the West and it sells the basics. I try to spend a little here weekly to support local business efforts although not far away is a medium size store with more variety and better pricing.




Sergei and Sergei of Real Russia did an episode on grocery shopping late last year while they lived in Ufa and have just updated the series with a new shopping experience in Moscow. So we'll start with the shopping trip in Ufa:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/pzmZxiIv8mA" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/pzmZxiIv8mA</a>


Their newest episode from 14 March is a shopping trip to Дикси (Dixie/Dixy) near their new apartment in Moscow.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/anO6Dh8Qv6g" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/anO6Dh8Qv6g</a>


Dixy is a Russian owned company with over 1300 stores in Russia. They also own a grocery chain known as Viktoria (Victoria).  If you have a VK account it is free to join the Dixy Club (vk/dixyclub) for discounts, specials and recipes.




Notes:
- Sergei Baklykov identified the carton of eggs as ten (10) per carton. I have mentioned that previously and some readers seem surprised as they're accustomed to buying eggs with a dozen per carton.

- Packaging for items like mayo and ketchup may be different from what readers are used to seeing in the West.

- Bring your own bags, it's okay. Sergei needed a bag and asked for a large. Most stores charge a tiny fee for bags. If you are moving to the FSU and have cloth or vinyl shopping bags back home, bring them along as you'll find them very useful especially when using public transportation. (Hint: new ones make good simple gifts.)

[Volshe]

This is an older topic, but i thought i'd share my experience. I was living in a "hotel" for postgrad students, but it's not really what we'd call a hotel - tiny studio with bathroom and a joke of a kitchen, no remont, that was 16.000 ru per month for those of us who were on a scholarship (and more for the others but i am not sure how much.) The good side of that is that the security is really great: except for residents, the area can be entered only with special permissions, there are guards 24/7 and all of it is under video surveillance, in my 4y there i never ever felt threatened or unsafe. (Everything else sucked though.)
I didn't have a car there, was taking the metro or the gypsy cabs; eating mostly at home and once or twice a week dining out (at ethnic restaurants in the South West Moscow); coffees at Starbucks, movies, nothing much.
A gym where i lived was included, so that part was fine; i have a special diet though, very little to no carbs, a lot of fish and meat (which has to be kosher or hallal) and veggies and i take tones of supplements which are costly; SOOO... all of it together was around 1000 euros per month (sans rent that is), not too much, not too little, tad more than it costs me at home.